295 Far Future Ch. 5 – So, this is going to be more Tedious... (1/2)

It was a fundamental change from what I'd been given, but that just meant a different advance schema taking more time.

It had also allowed her to juke the system nicely.

My true Primary Class was Melee, not a Soulblade Psi-Warrior. While PW's were more than competent combatants, it was not their primary function. They killed stuff with Psi, generally focusing it through Weapons, but were perfectly happy to kill at range as well as in close. They had no intrinsic preference, relying on their psionics for what others relied on tech, implants, or bioengineering to accomplish.

I was a Tool-user, and a soulblade was just a tool. Honestly, I was more deadly with Chalice in her Sword form, as opposed to acting as a Focus.

However, showing her true form would probably be a bad idea. Chalice was a QL 55 Full-Tempered Orichalcum Heavy Warsword, and could probably demand a price higher than this Spire. The Mechanists would slobber all over it, the nobles would kill themselves for such an exquisite toy, and the Orders would want to put it in the hands of someone 'more capable'.

Yeah, no, that wasn't going to happen. I could only applaud the level of Crafting that went into it that completely obfuscated how totally awesome she was, or they would never have allowed me to keep her...

There was a second reason, and that was that this universe didn't allow Arsenal or Slaughter effects. Indeed, it was pretty down on Banes as a whole. Chalice's default Slot arrangement was fixed and could not be altered once set.

That was a major loss in combat flexibility. Being able to adjust a Weapon on the fly to fight a specific foe was extremely useful, the equivalent of a major psionic ability, like dimension-hopping or TK.

Chalice was metal, and her Runes weren't allowed to change, this Reality said so.

But a soulblade could!

The Runes of my soulblade were set by whatever ones the psychic energy passed through in its Focus. So, changing a soulblade meant dismissing it and reforming it with a brand-new set of Runes, that was all.

It wouldn't work for a Psion, of course, as their mindblade's characteristics had to be mentally stamped into the weapon to take proper form. They could adjust the properties, but it would take time, as it literally meant changing their minds, and they could only choose from pure psionic properties. Focuses were generally used to provide flat Enhancement bonuses to their mindblades, while they used their flexibility for other special effects...

For a Null Psion, it was the Focus that defined the form. In other words, Chalice was forming my soulblade, I was not. I only decided my soulclaws... but my soulclaws had resonance with Chalice, now that she was Soulbound to me...

Levels, where you accumulated X experience and were awarded Y multiple benefits, didn't happen here, except if something powerful was creating something else. No, all those benefits had to be purchased independently, and were subject to the 1/day limit rules.

This was especially onerous for the Health and Soak advances, as they were both Hit Points. Because I was an ExLite, I had maximum Health and Soak. I literally could not choose to skip such advances, and would have to take them in order to advance a Level in my Racial and Primary Classes.

Well, hardly a bad thing, but it sucked compared to when I could just Level and bam, here's twenty-some Hit Points like, right now.

But fine, fine, I had time...

Mom had abused those rules, as she'd simply purchased most of the MAB advance of the Melee Class for me, straight up!

The entire Melee Class was something like +10 MAB, +7 RAB, +100 Soak, +40 (70) Skill Points, +7/7/3 Saves, and buy a bunch of martial, armor, and weapon Proficiencies, Masteries, and Techniques, each one by one.

It was meant to be accumulated slowly and gradually, as each tier of benefits cost more than the one before, just like Leveling. So, you'd buy all the benefits at one Tier, then buy all the ones at the next, and so forth and so on.

Mom had directly driven me up the pole to +7 MAB and made me a melee machine. It was no wonder I'd been able to fight a bunch of Warped stuff I couldn't remember, if it really happened. By even the standards of a Coronal Knight, I was very good with a blade in my hand.

Profound Sword: The Sword is an extension of the hand. Any Feat, Technique, or Mastery that applies to unarmed combat applies to your Sword. It is treated as a spiritual weapon for purposes of ki. Requires Improved Unarmed Strike and Sword Specialization.

My Soul is My Sword: your soulsword/mindblade is treated as a Sword for all purposes, and vice versa.

Others mindblade users specialized in the mindblade, which was literally a solidified extension of their thoughts. It moved as they willed, it naturally harmonized with them.

Mine was a tool, and that's how I used it. Mankind brought themselves up from monkey-dom by using tools. Science was a thing, and that's how I would approach this.

---------------

”So, did she describe what a Null Psion is?” the older man asked gravely, frowning at the two young men before him. His spine was like steel, his uniform was spotless, his cloak hung perfectly even resting, his graying hair could defy a hurricane, and his blue eyes were like ice. At the side of his desk, a holo was up, and a sharp-faced man, hair dark, face wrinkled, his eyes permanently shadowed, regarded them the same way.

”We did not press the issue overmuch initially, but her basic description was that we are squirt guns, and she is a sealed jar,” Sir Dorval replied respectfully.

Duke Honus Parablum, Senior Master of the Knights Coronal of Janus Prime, frowned. ”Assuming that psionic power equals water... she cannot spend or release psionic power.” He looked at another holo, coming up with the assessment results on her. ”She has both a Nimbus and a Corona?” he observed, questioning.

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”She described it as hitting someone with the jar.”

”Ah. Conversely, a psion would be hitting them with the gun, instead of shooting them. Much less efficient, much less powerful... unless it is quite a large gun, swung very hard.”